With the advent of NECA taking over the Heroclix, I realized that the possibility exists that they may go through the current rulebook and make some changes to it accordingly. With that in mind there are some rules that I would really like for them to consider.

I wouldn't say these are for the 'better' and understand that this may even complicate the game further. But considering that it's quite complicated as it stands, I don't see the harm.

1 - Powers that work according to the range on the printed dial. I would love to see powers like Outwit, Perplex, and PC limited to the range of character, with a range of 4 for those that have 0 range. To me it always made more sense that way. I'm even open to doing the same for TK.

2 - Adjacent stealth. At the very least I think LOS should be possible when you are adjacent to an opposing figure that is in hindering terrain and has stealth. That whole "I can see you to punch you, but I can't see you to shoot you?" has been one of the toughest sells to new players for me all my life. I remember the early days when we had no clue how to play. We would run up our Outwitter next to the person in stealth, Outwit his stealth, then fire a ranged volley with our other attackers. *sigh* Those were the days.

3 - Invincible should include Toughness. There, I said it... No figure that can't dish out more than 1 click of damage should ever be able to scratch Iron-Man or Superman Prime when they are on their first click and not being Outwitted. That's just plain ludicrous!

??? Not sure I get you are saying here.

As for any rule changes:

NONE! If it isn't broke, don't fix it, and the HeroClix rules are perfect the way they are, better than they ever have been.

As far as adjacency and stealth, leave it the way it is. Outwit is already the most powerful power in the game. No reason to unbalance it any further.

Agreed with VGA on none but I also agree with "Invincible" (the SP) needing Toughness, at least.

It's just sick to see a poisoner come and knock Prime/Iron Man off that click.

Poison?! REALLY?

If a "Poisoner" can get next to -- and stay next to -- Iron Man or especially Prime, they deserve to get Poisoned.

Oh, I get it! Yeah, it would suck to get Poisoned off or get hit for a fig with 1 Damage Value. But then again, Invincible is still very sweet the way it is! It's saved my Iron Man on many occasions, and I usually keep him from from a character getting adjacent to me.

OUTWIT = Outwit should no longer be able to counter Damage Reducers, or if need be for simplicity, Defensive powers in general. I'm serious.

Hear me out...

When Toughness and Invulnerable were costed into the formula, the only way past them was to have outwit or high damage. I remember when I first started playing from the 8 or so IC boosters and primier starter I had bought. My friends and I would roll and take turns picking pieces. Whoever pulled Veteran Juggernaut won. Those 7 click of Invulnerable were unstoppable.

Since then, Psychic blast and Exploit weakness have come into the game, (and better simulate cutting through someone's defenses) RCE and CCE have become more common, Damage values are higher on average, and as a result Damage reducers don't hold up the way the were intended/costed. PERIOD.

To make matters worse, recent sets have substituted higher defense values to simulate characters being hard to hurt. (Which confirms that Damage reducers no longer do the job.) Tell me, since when should Hulk or Thing have multiple clix of 18 Defense? Really? These guys don't dodge bullets or pull matrix manuevers. They are just hard to hurt. Instead of fixing/updating damage reducers or protecting them from outwit, they've increased newer defense values making older figures EVEN MORE obsolete...


end rant.

I agree with you wholeheartedly on this one.

I couldn't disagree more. In fact several of the powers/rules have been broken since the game's design or not properly factored into the formula. This is of course all my opinion, but I think it holds a lot of merit. When was the last time you were happy that Veteran Kyle Raynor started with barrier, or when your 200 point piece has forceblast pop up on the speed slot. I think a lot of things could be improved and make the game significantly better. Here's a link to a thread I made about this exact topic. I hope at least some of these changes make it through. Some are just my opinion, others are blatant miscosts in the point formula and should have been reworked a long time ago.

http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showth...ultradrgn+rant

Your rant has some very valid points! I enjoyed your post, and have had similar discussions with my friends.

Wording on Invincible plus toughness where the rule layers can't say it means the figure can't be hurt by anyone unless its outwitted or penetrating damage is used might be somewhat difficult which might be why they did it this way.

I do agree that if it could be worded right the improved Invincible would be much better plus I also agree with the ability to see through stealth if your adjacent to it.

Powers using printed range rather then auto 10 would be interesting but overall I don't think I'd like it too much although if it was done with TK too it'd make Xplosion Phoenix my number 1 TKer since she'd be able to TK 12 squares for only 85 points.

Some real good points and ideas there.

Hey thanks =)

Instead of the 10% Feat restriction, I would like to see feats restricted by requiring more TA and Keywords as prerequisites.

Don't want to see that Thunderbolts card abused? Requiring the Avengers TA & the Thunderbolts keyword fixes that.

Same with:

Alpha Flight, The Society, Squadron Supreme, GLC, etc.

Think In Contact With Oracle is too powerful? Require The Batman Ally, JLA, and Suicide Squad in conjunction with The Gotham City, JLA, and Suicide Squad keywords.

I know this does not fix all of the 'alleged' abuse. But it cuts it down a lot and makes those types of cards more thematically accurate. And it allows for theme teams to be built to point totals which do not leave them short like the Royal Flush Gang.

I hate the -2 to movement when taxiing, but I can live with that.

Maps are too powerful!!

I have been a champion of the very adjustment to stealth you suggest. Its a very simple fix. Include the following sentence in the wording of stealth: "...characters adjacent to the character with stealth may ignore it."

restriction is good. With special powers and traits there is always the option of varying stealth models for specific efffects, including being immune to outwit, or preventing line of sight even when based. but these should be the exceptional version of stealth. Stealth should be basic.

so I agree with all that has been said in the argument for stealth restriction.

also I have my pet topic: the missed opportunity that is the card mechanics in this game. the game effects are mostly right on. but the way they are used in the meta part of the game is what disappoints me. we lose the chance to use cards for what they are best at: random draws... concealed possibilities... unexpected plays. these are things that would really enhance the comics~story aspect of Heroclix.

Battlefield Conditions should be limited to one in play. a player may play one at any time, and it replaces the current one. Feats, instead of adding to the build total of your force, should cost victory points, which are immediately added to your opponent's score. the more chances you take with card plays, the more victory points you cede to your opponent. It would be very balanced. it doesn't have to become a card game as some fear. Make deck sizes small say twenty cards, restrict cards to one per deck, and make players draw no more than one card per turn. all the cards released previously plus some new ones would make a nice product to sell in booster packs. include one pog and we've got something.

and I'd love to see releases of new character cards (possibly in the same boosters) that update old units from previous sets, give them simple traits that help them compete in the new environment, assigns them "named" powers and keywords and reactivates them for tournament play. I think its a great way to reward the loyal longstanding customers; to make the product they already own fun again.

I'll agree with the idea that powers default on the character's range. This is the kind of simple streamlining that makes sense. Its actually more dynamic, AND easier for players to use and understand. Simple rules like this should be thought of as the "basic level" now that we have special powers. The PAC powers should be the most simple and straightforward versions that they can be. they can tweak them from there.

I also think that theme teams via keywords are good, but maybe give some options on the benefits. the free outwits are kind of a (powerful) bland bonus. I think a simpler, more flexible bonus is extra build points. 25 points for every three characters that share a single keyword for every 200 points. This allows themed teams a little extra room for support, encouraging players to come up with their own combos instead of the three~figures~designed~to~fit~on~a~300 point team that come in that set.

beyond that; I think that the rules are pretty solid as they stand. I actually like the way the game runs now... but there is always room for improvement. This isn't biblical scripture here. It can be changed. I'm just of the opinion that when changes are implemented, they should try to do so in a way that simplifies as opposed to adding complexity, and empowers older sets as opposed to abandoning them.